Abstract

BLANCO, Mónica  and  ROMERO SOTELO, María Eugenia. The Institutional Limits of Economic Growth. Advances and Set-hades of Bourbon Policy in the New Spain of the 18th Century. Inv. Econ [online]. 2000, vol.60, n.231, pp.139-179. ISSN 0185-1667.

The 18th Century was characterized by a notable economic growth, and by the Spanish Crown's introduction of a series of legislative and governmental measures. The purpose of these measures was fundamentally to ensure fiscal efficiency and a revitalization of the economy. This article aims to study the range and limitations of said measures, known as the Bourbon Reforms, by making use of novel statistical tools.

This work demonstrates that the reforms did, in fact, promote economic growth, especially in the mining sector. This was accomplished by means of a fiscal policy that reduced the price of basic raw materials, particularly the price of mercury, and operated a system of production-tax exemption. Nevertheless, this Bourbon policy also generated a series of negative effects. At the end of the 18th Century, the central problem in the economy was precisely an increase in the exacting of taxes, designed to make up for a lack of resources in the Exchequer. Thus this fiscal reform actually generated tension between the economic agents and the Spanish Crown, thereby causing a situation of uncertainty for investment.

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